Grant Kirkhope, renowned for composing the iconic DK Rap for Donkey Kong 64, recently shared insights into why his name was omitted from the credits of The Super Mario Bros. Movie. In a conversation with Eurogamer, Kirkhope revealed that Nintendo opted not to credit composers for music they own, with the exception of Koji Kondo. He explained, "They said we decided that any music that was quoted from the games that we owned, we wouldn't credit the composers - apart from Koji Kondo. Then they decided anything with a vocal would get credited, so the DK Rap scores there. But then they decided if we also own it, we won't credit the composers. And that was the final nail in the coffin."
Kirkhope expressed his disappointment, noting that by the time the credits rolled, the theater was nearly empty, and only his family remained to witness the absence of his name. He lamented, "I said I appreciate you've got your policies and all the rest of it, but by the time the credits roll in the movie to show the songs, the theatre's completely empty, everyone's gone, it's only me and my wife and my two kids sat there going 'look daddy's name!'. I said 'for the sake of a couple of lines of text…', but that was that."
In 2023, Kirkhope voiced his frustration on social media, stating, "I was really looking forward to see my name in the credits for the DK Rap, but alas as expected it's not there ........ fml." While the DK Rap went uncredited, other licensed tracks in the film did receive proper acknowledgments.
Kirkhope described the sampling of the DK Rap in the movie as "bizarre," akin to simply plugging in an N64 and looping the track. He contributed guitar to the original recording, while the vocal "D-K" part was performed by colleagues from Rare, yet none received credit.
When asked about the possibility of the DK Rap appearing on the Nintendo Music App, Kirkhope speculated, "They have put some of [David Wise]'s stuff on it. They do own it all so it's up to them. I don't think they ever really liked [Donkey Kong 64] that much. That's a rumor we got back through the cycle of whispers from Nintendo when we were at Rare. I don't know if that's true or not."
Despite Donkey Kong 64's absence from the N64 Switch Online lineup, elements like the Rambi theme may feature in future projects like Donkey Kong Bananza. For more from Kirkhope, including discussions on potential new Banjo Kazooie and Donkey Kong projects, check out the full Eurogamer interview.
Meanwhile, the Super Mario Bros. franchise continues to expand, with a new movie slated for release in April 2026.
Latest Downloads
Downlaod
Top News
